Engaged
by Lavenderpaw
Summary: After three happy months with Roxanne, something happens that changes everyone's lives for the worst. Fifteen-year-old Max finds out that he will be a teenaged father. With trouble rising, he's determined to be a good father. Completed.
1. After all these years

**I.**

2011...

"So, Mr. Goof. I understand you were a Licensed Practical Nurse before applying here."

The twenty-eight-year-old man smiled nervously, revealing his two buck teeth.

"Well, Mr. Goof?" Mrs. Popchock inquired.

"Yeah, err, yes, ma'am. I received a two-year associates and left for a few years to pursue my career. And, well, it would really mean a lot to me to have a career as an RN because-, uh, well because…" When she asked if it was to break the female stereotype he went red.

The elderly woman remained deadpanned for a moment before bursting out into laughter.

"Uh-heh, uh-heh, why are we laughing?"

"Oh, don't worry sweetheart. Many a male work in this profession, you have nothing to worry about. You've maintained a four point average and you have an excellent resume."

"Oh," Max laughed nervously, "Great. I was so worried that I wouldn't get hired."

Mrs. Popchock turned expressionless again.

His face dropped.

Her eyes crinkled, "HAHAHAHA!" she resumed her sobriety. "Probation starts at 6 am."

"I'll be here." He nodded with a smile.

The woman frowned. "Don't you mean 'there' as in your assigned hallway?"

Max's eyes widened.

"Pfft - HAHAHAHA!"

"Heh-heh… _yeah_." He gathered some papers and stowed them into his briefcase, holding everything under his arm as he pushed open the heavy brown door of the nursing home. It was a relief to leave the hilarity-induced staff coordinator to herself. "Right, like I need to laugh in the real world," Max muttered to himself, "Why is it no one takes life seriously?"

This was true of his father Goofy too; even in this bad economy he hadn't tried for a job.

The man saw two aides chatting over a cart as they were arranging medications. He gave a haggard breath and started heading out into mid-day Forkersboro — a town several hours outside of Spoonersville. Max was ready to go home and fix himself a lunch when a hand found his own. A hunched over man in his wheelchair was staring up expectantly. He had a look in his eyes that suggested that he might be in pain, but before Max could walk over to the aides and try to find out where the LPN on duty was he was linked around the neck.

"Max!" P.J. said excitedly.

"P.J.! I… aye-yie-yie!" He looked his baggy-clothed friend from head-to-toe.

"What's up, man?" P.J. said as he plopped a half-eaten chilidog into his mouth.

"Peej, it's been four months, man. I thought you had gotten a job by now!"

"Oh, no way man." The heavy-set guy looked for a place to sit down and settled for using a hoyer lift right behind him. "Haaa!" he clashed his hands behind his head, looking lazily up at his stunned friend as he swung back and forth; the machine strained under his weight.

"P.J.," Max came up and pushed a button down on the tan remote, leveling the man onto his feet before the makeshift hammock gave way, "It's great ta see ya pal, but what's up?"

"What's up? Uh… not my credit score, Max. Actually, I don't have credits _to_ be scored."

"Dude, it's not that hard! Haven't you tried online? They're tons of job sites out there."

"Ever since I dropped out it's been one dead-in job after another," he kicked at the floor.

Max gave his friend a comforting pat on the shoulder. "Hey, look, since you're in town we-,"

"Max," P.J. caught his arm and pulled him closer, "Look." he pointed over at a time clock.

Stacey — slim and complete with floral-print scrubs — turned with her card in hand.

When she saw her former classmates by the entranceway she froze.

Max looked at P.J., P.J. looked at Max and when the hired of the pair turned back around he had a determined look in his eye. Twelve years and nine months had passed since the last time all three had been in the same room, and now, at long last, Max had found a lead.

To be continued…

~ Lavenderpaw ~


	2. The kiss of Judas

**A/N: **Is it just me or is Lady Gaga awesome? Also, the chapters will be divided up into the past and present events. And yes, I am aware that this involves minors getting in on. lol

Hence the rating of T.

**I. **Summer of 1996...

"All right, Roxanne," P.J. started to say as he positioned the old root beer bottle in the center of the living room floor. "Whoever the bottle lands on, you get to pucker up to."

Max sent him a look from across the way.

"Hey, man. It's just a game. Lighten up."

"Yeah," the birthday girl laughed, nudging her boyfriend lightly. "It's a _game_, Max."

"Yeah, well, I'd rather not have the girl of my dreams up for grabs."

"Ooo…" Everyone said.

"Yeah, yeah, 'Ooo Ooo Ooo,' "

When he looked up Roxanne was smiling at him reassuringly.

The teenager felt a smile of his own start and spun the bottle more confidently. It had been nearly three months since the two had started dating, within days it had become far more serious than either him or Roxanne had imagined. Of course, that was fine with Max Goof.

"All right, all right…" P.J.'s voice brought him back to the present.

"Bobby, Bobby, _Bobby_." Stacey prayed quietly.

Her boyfriend took off his glasses and glared at her.

She blushed and grinned — her braces were bright and silver.

Bobby blinked several times and returned a smile, knowing she just wanted the same. Max and Roxanne made an adorable if not perfect couple but their friends felt that if they didn't try to date other people that they'd grow tired of each other. It was a concept that neither would accept. Max, even if he hadn't told her, loved Roxanne. Why would that change in a million years? If you found someone in life that you loved, why stop loving them? Roxanne gave him daydreams of romance, and — Max thought unabashedly — the idea of marriage.

He refused to believe that he would ever love anyone else like he loved this girl.

The bottle came to a gradual halt in front of one person.

This person, it turned out to be, was Max.

"Well," He offered his hand to her, which she took with a chuckle, "That settles that."

"Darn it," P.J. muttered to himself, sipping on his root beer.

"Guys, forget it, there's no way you're tearing us apart," Max pulled Roxanne in close.

"Ever?" She said.

He looked her over. Her bushy red hair and gentle brown eyes were humbling yet beautiful at the same time. Could Max have ever found a more pretty, completely selfless girl, "Ever."

Roxanne giggled.

"Forever and ever," He said as he laid his lips across hers.

"Hey, hey!" P.J. interrupted them.

"Take it to the backroom, you two, pronto!" Bobby started to scold.

Hand-in-hand, they both went into Roxanne's father's den — him surprisingly turning out to be a literature major — and shut the door behind them. Max gave her a smile as he gave the key under the door knob a quick turn and walked up to her. He gave the top button of his red and black striped dress shirt a firm tug while smoothing out the annoying hair gel that had been applied against his will. Roxanne gave a nervous twirl of her hair before she gave in to his request and met his lips full on. The deepening of this kiss they sealed was the couple's commitment to one another, for they knew no other way to express their love:

It was something no one could take away from them.

"Hey," P.J. knocked on the door.

Max and Roxanne stepped back, looking into one another's eyes in shock.

"You two doin' the seven minutes in heaven thing or what, there's _no noise _out here?"

They shared a laugh before Roxanne looked down at her dark brown skirt.

"You look great," Max tugged on one of her puffy green blouse sleeves, "Um, beautiful."

She looked up at him.

"What if my dad comes home and finds us?"

Max took her hand in his and kissed it gently.

"I'm more worried that he wouldn't find out about us."

"It's goin' on eight minutes in there, guys."

Max shook his head in amusement before walking over to the window that would allow them to crawl down a honey-suckle twined trellis and held out his hand for hers. Roxanne smiled and walked over to take it but when Max started to pull her out she hesitated a bit.

"Max," the now fifteen-year-old girl said uncertainly.

He looked into her eyes, fearing only what she feared.

"Yes?"

"What if this is wrong?"

The young man caught her chin and fingered it up to meet his brown eyes again.

"If loving you is wrong then there is no right."

Despite his hand's support, Roxanne's jaw dropped.

Max closed it gently. He smiled and sealed his words with another deep kiss.

Perhaps there was another way he could express his love for Roxanne.

To be continued...

~ Lavenderpaw ~


	3. Witty, Witless, Outwitted!

**I. **Max's first day of work, 2011...

"All right…" Stacey Whitman said to herself as she jotted down notes, "Vitals? Check."

The woman marked that off her list.

"New order of briefs? Check."

She gave the small spiral notepad another mark.

"Pureed eggs, oh… heh-heh. Checkaroony."

"Sausage lengths?" An overweight man said as he leaned against the door jamb.

"Sausage…? No, the resident — wah!" Stacey nearly lost her footing.

P.J. gnawed casually on his length of greasy brown meat.

"Wha-what do you want from me!.?"

He sucked on his fingers, taking a long moment to lick the last one. "The lowdown."

"The-the what?" Stacey was nearly backed up against the hallway's fire alarm.

The woman planned to use this in case there was no other way out.

"On a certain someone's son," P.J. came over to block her exist more rigidly.

"I-I don't-,"

"Au contraire!" Bobby's hand clamped over the red device on the wall.

"Bobby!"

The man was tall and lanky like she remembered — but now with a terrible comb over.

"I have to go," Stacey pressed her things to her shapely chest, "Right now!"

"Where ya goin?" P.J. called out to her as she picked up her pace to a jog.

"Ya can't run forever, toots!"

"Ha-ha, 'toots.' "

The sound of them smacking their hands together only served to make her run faster.

This was not happening. Stacey Whitman had not just run into the men she had swore to herself she would never see again. They were nothing but boys at the time, but how had they found her? And, more importantly, how had Max Goof known where to look for her?

"Oh, sweet Jesus," She breathed as she entered the nurses' lounge. A cozy oldie played in the background as she walked over to pour herself a Styrofoam cup of coffee. "Oh, lord."

"I thought your parents forbid you from using the lord's name in vain."

"How do… WAH!"

In a nice pair of black scrubs with a white T-shirt underneath, Max stood leaning against the now closed door. "Hello, Anastasia." he proceeded over to her with his arms crossed.

"Whatever you want from me, you can't have it! The plan was set and made, Max."

"Don't cha mean?" He tugged at his new nametag, "Your R.N.?"

The aide was stunned. "Max!"

"That's _Mr. _Max to you, you back-stabbing hussy." Bobby crawled through the window.

"Yeah, you, uh… I'm pretty sure I'm not allowed to say that in front of women."

"Peej, you're twenty-nine. Give it a go."

"That's all right, guys," Max put his hand up, "I think we've worn Miss Stacey down."

She bowed her head slightly. "What makes you so sure I'll tell you anything?"

"What do you mean?" He said in the same firmness as before.

"I _could _charge you bozos with quite a nice little list of crimes against me."

"Right," Max got right in her face, "Or I could charge you with assisting in child abduction."

To be continued…

~ Lavenderpaw ~


	4. Calling Mister Crazy

**I.**

Two weeks after Roxanne's party…

Goofy opened the door that would reveal his son's alcove-curved room.

"Max," he said tentatively.

The fifteen-year-old sat in bed twisting a sweaty bed sheet between his hands.

"Maxy?"

"Hey, Dad." His replied listlessly.

"What'cha doin' inside on a day like this?" He gestured to the windows — they had their red drapes pulled together. "Uh, well, what're you doin' inside when you could be out?"

"It's been almost half a month since Roxanne's called me, Dad." Max took a few moments to gather himself before meeting his father's eyes. "She hasn't been in school, told her friends anything, nothing!" The teenager buried his face in his hands. "What if she's really gone?"

"Now, Max," Goofy touched his son's back, "Don't go ta jumpin' to no conclusions 'bout nothin' till you know, son." he gave his trademark laugh, "She might be doin' one of them girl thingajigs." Max looked at him strangely. He realized he wasn't helping and stood up.

"Dad," his son asked before he left, "What if something really… terrible happened?"

"Max…"

"Dad, seriously! No calls, no E-mails, no anything."

His Mickey phone suddenly gave a shrill ring.

"Dah!" Max fumbled to pick it up as it continued to give off an ear-piercing wail.

"Max!"

"Dad, shh," He waved at his father. "This could be important."

"Max." Roxanne's voice was barely audible.

"Rox!" Max responded gleefully.

"Come to the Spoonersville Children's Hospital, I need to talk to you."

_Child? _Goofy thought.

"Okay, okay stay right there. Dad and me will be there as soon as we can." He hung up.

"Max, what's the matter? Why's she in the hospital?"

"I don't know," He told him as he jumped out of bed to get dressed, purposely throwing the curtains back to let in morning light. "But we gotta get there, even if it is a child's…"

Goofy met his eyes when Max grasped the notion.

"A child? Wouldn't she go to a regular hospital Dad?" He asked as he pulled his pants on.

"Under seventeen's still a minor son. Get your clothes on and let's go!"

…

Roxanne sat with her head hanging in shame when Max burst through the automatic doors.

"Roxanne!"

The girl's face lit up a moment. "Max," she beamed.

But when her father stood she fell automatically silent. Roxanne felt Max's confused eyes switching between them, but when he asked her she mustered all the strength she could to meet his eyes. There was nothing she could do now but admit that she'd ruined his life.

"Max."

"Hold on, there!" Goofy called out as he came running in after his son.

The three watched on as he got caught in the closing doors.

"Max, I thought it was just you coming."

"Yeah, well, my dad drove me." He took her hands. "It was the fastest way to get to you."

Rex leered down in his face.

"Daddy, we talked about this." Roxanne asserted. "Max," she took a deep breath.

"Rox?" His eyes harbored such great worry that she resisted telling him.

When her father cleared his throat and coaxed her forward, she no longer had a choice.

"Max," the girl said in a loud voice, "I'm going to have a baby."

He stood there with a dumbfounded look for a second or two.

"I-I-I-I'm sorry, I didn't hear you, uh… _what_?"

"Max," Roxanne took his hands and said steadily, "We're going to be parents."

She looked up to see that Goofy had frozen up like a statue.

"Mr. Goof…?"

Her father growled.

"Y-y-y-you're… _what_?" Max said. "W-w-w-we're… we're gonna be _what!.?_"

"Max, please." Roxanne pleaded with him, she felt her eyes moisten.

Then, as if all common sense had become extinct, the boy jumped up into the air.

"WE'RE GONNA BE PARENTS!" He hollered excitedly, pumping his arms, "WOAH!"

"Max," Roxanne reacted in surprise.

"EEEEEeeeee-hohohohoho!"

"Mr. Goof?"

The man still looked about the same, perhaps the color of his face had waned a little.

"This is great," Max took her arms and gave them a shake, "We gotta tell people, oh man. We've gotta go to school and let everyone know. This is incredible, unbelievable, completely fantastic! Right, Dad? Dad?" He didn't move even as Max tried to wave in front of his eyes.

"Dad?" Roxanne turned to her own stolid father.

He made a rumbling noise.

"Rex, err, Mr. Roxanne's Dad. You're going to be a grandpa." Max tried reasoning.

The man didn't respond.

"Uh… not that I ever had a living grandfather in my life…"

There was still no response.

"But still, with Roxanne as the mother, it's going to be a beautiful," he gulped, "miracle."

…

The Spoonersville hospital courtyard was peaceful until a young man ran screaming out the front doors. He raced over to where a young woman was assisting an elderly lady and grabbed onto her arms. "He's going to kill me!" Max shrieked. "He's going to KILL me!"

Rex rammed through the closing glass doors, locked onto the boy and punched his hand.

"Ahhhhhhhhhhh!" The teenager screamed so loudly that his ears made a rippling effect.

Off into the late morning day Max ran with Roxanne's dad in hot pursuit.

To be continued…

~ Lavenderpaw ~


	5. Undercover sisters and brothers

**I.**

A few days after working at the Forkersboro Nursing Home…

Max sat in front of a computer typing relentlessly. Because he didn't have the money to put forward toward an ancestral or adoption search engine site — him having put such a hefty down payment for a three bedroom home, the extra rooms to entertain any new guests of course, — Max was relying on Stacey's help and financial assistance as he was penniless.

And really, the woman no longer had a choice.

Max also didn't care if she made only slightly above minimum wage.

The man switched his eyes up on the overhead clock of the library when he felt someone hovering over him. With a scowl, he turned to look over his shoulder to find a woman in a light pink jacket and white satin top — Max kept from skimming her black, knee length skirt.

"Need any help?" She asked politely.

The look on his face turned from glassy-eyed to enthralled.

Looking at this woman reminded him so much of…

"Psst," Someone said from afar.

Max looked around, brought out of his trance.

"Psst, over here."

Both he and the woman with a librarian nametag 'Emily' turned to a trench coated form sitting at the end of a long table. Max wrinkled his muzzle and gave the kind lady behind him a smile before standing and pushing his seat in. "Maybe another time," she offered.

He stopped, thought a moment and then turned to her with a nod.

The mysterious person with thick sunglasses, a tan fedora and a characteristic feminine face sat with a vanilla envelopment in front of her. Max started to pull a chair out beside Stacey when she gave an "ah ah!" and directed him to instead take a seat in front of her.

"Do you have the money for me to look up Jaxzan or not?"

When Max took his 'assigned' seat before Stacey, she pulled off her shades and glared into his eyes, "I don't appreciate being blackmailed, Mr. Goof, the last thing I need is you here."

He placed his arm on the long library table. "I don't appreciate kidnappers."

At that, Stacey sniffed hard.

"Where's the money for the website?" Max demanded.

Before she could screech her chair back and leave, two hands were placed on her arms. When she looked up a woman who was very fat and a woman who was very skinny had looks on their faces that reinforced the notion that she wasn't taking off again. Max took the credit card from her envelop as his friends kept harmless grips on her and entered the pin number onto his touch screen phone — Max didn't waste any time leaving the facility.

The librarian, however, peered up from her desk as he marched away from the threesome.

To be continued…

~ Lavenderpaw ~


	6. Wishful dreaming

**I. **Three months after the news, late 1996...

Goofy mounted the stairs of his house and walked to the slightly ajar room of his son. The teenager was sound asleep and nothing but a snoozing form under his covers. Gone was his sullen boy and in his place a delusional young man with instant aspirations of childrearing.

It wasn't that Goofy was against being a grandfather.

"Roxanne…" His son murmured. "Beautiful, beautiful baby, Roxanne."

The girl called every week and told Max how she was doing. But she was never allowed to come over; which Max figured was normal. Roxanne was never allowed to have Max as a visitor; which the teenager figured was to allow privacy. In fact, it had been at least eight days since Roxanne last called — she was enrolling in alternative school that day.

Goofy had to wonder, though, how his son could remain enthusiastic and never doubtful.

… _Max's dream sequence…_

It was the late spring of 1997, Max was in the delivery room with an anticipant look on his face as the nurses surrounded an unseen Roxanne. "Wait, wait, the doctor's coming now!"

'Hurry up!' He yelled in his mind. 'Get the baby out, hurry!'

"Ah!" His love screamed.

Where was the doctor? That damned doctor…

"Here I am!" a tall, white-draped man strolled in through a haze of white that made a sort of blurred effect around Max's eyes. "All right, Roxanne. Just hold tight, I'm right here."

This didn't make sense to the teenager, why was the doctor being so careless?

"Whoopsy-daisy!" The dream doctor announced as the nurses effortlessly parted and a bundle of bare, tan skin fell into the man's arms. "There we are, a bouncing baby boy."

A bouncing _what?_

Like an absurd lunatic, the doctor bounced the spontaneously white clothed baby up in his hands. Instead of crying, the newborn laughed. Max gawked around until he saw Roxanne smiling joyfully at the baby. When she turned to him he instantly felt a smile of his own. It didn't matter in that moment if this was surreal, Max was finally a father after all this time!

"Here you are, Mr. Goof." Dream doctor handed him his son.

"Hey, there little guy…"

The small boy looked up at him wide, happy eyes.

"I'm your Dad," Max laughed nervously. "I'm your Daddy…"

…

Goofy watched as his boy had turned over on his back and was now rocking an invisible form in his arms. A ridiculously huge smile was on his face and only faltered a moment as he felt around, apparently realizing his 'baby' was missing. Max fingered a pillow that was under his head and happily started to rock it. It only started getting truly bizarre when the teenager cradled the pillow against his chest and gave it a large smooch, then turned over.

He lowered his head in anguish as Max shoved the pillow back under his head, gave it a few pats and then snuggled up close to it. Tears running down Goofy's cheek went unseen by his son as he slowly closed the door to Max's room. As a half of the moon from the night sky shone it's white light upon the fifteen-year-old, he shed a happy tear in it's bright slant.

To be continued…

**A/N: **I wonder how long Max can be happy…?

~ Lavenderpaw ~


	7. Someone for Max

**I.**

Four days after a lot of searching and heartbreak…

Forkersboro. That's where Max had traced his currently fourteen-year-old son. The house had been nice and modest, daisies in planters along the windows, a well-preserved cement walkway, tiny white flowers bordering the edges of said walkway that led up to the large, woodsy green home with ivory trim. But no one had been home, not even after two hours.

It had been too hard for him to return to the place of residence and so he was now trying to continue his search elsewhere. Max started looking up every last bit of information he could find on different sites; how to obtain forwarding addresses using cyber space, how to go about finding adopted high school-level children, how to sue teenage mom adductors.

"Max."

The soft voice couldn't have been Stacey's, who had beat the pavement the night after she had given Max the money to obtain his leads, in fact, he hadn't heard this one for months.

"Sylvia?"

"Hello, sweetheart!" His step mom grabbed him about the arms.

"Hey…" the man chuckled. "Okay, okay, lay off. Lay off."

'Lay off... just like my dad.' He thought wryly.

The woman stepped back looking older but still librarian-ish as ever.

"So what are you doing here?" Max gestured with his palm for her to sit down.

"Well, your father told me that you had located Jackson…"

"_Jax_-zan." He corrected her, turning back to his laptop. "Not to be rude, but why?"

"Well…" Sylvia tapped her fingers together. "Your father thinks it's best you stopped."

"Huh! Tell me something that isn't surprising."

"Max, he… um, we feel that it isn't good for you to go in this direction."

"Oh? And what direction does _he _think I should be going in?"

The man didn't think he needed to remind his stepmother that he was a grown adult.

"We actually came up here to look for work, I've got a job here now."

"Lemme guess," Max shut his laptop closed, "He's gonna get a job where I work."

She blinked and then folded her arms resentfully.

"Okay, okay…" he motioned. "Sorry, I've been under a lot of stress lately."

"And you're glad I'm here?"

Max couldn't help but smile at the woman who had distracted his father for eleven years.

"Let's just say I owe you a lot."

Sylvia laughed and turned to someone with a nod.

"Uh, Syl, how're you nodding to?"

"Max," She stood up and placed her hand on the shoulder of the young librarian from four days earlier, "This is my niece, Emily. Em," the thirty-something woman smiled at him shyly.

Sylvia finished the introductions undeterred.

"Hello, Max." Emily spoke like a nervous young girl.

The man wanted to get up and leave, but somehow, he found he couldn't.

"Hi, Emily." Max took her hand — and smiled an enormous smile. "Good to meet you."

"Very good." She said.

To be continued…

~ Lavenderpaw ~

**A/N: **Oh yeah, Happy Mother's day!


	8. Second guessing

**I.**

It was a clear day in early 1997, January 20th. Max sat on a bench overlooking the trees of the Spoonersville park. Even this early in the year there were several birds out scouring all reaches of the large public area. A large bronze statue of the founder of Spoonersville was currently being used as a viewpoint so that if any crumbs dropped the robin would know.

"Okay, eleven-thirty," Max muttered to himself as he checked his wristwatch.

"Max."

His head jerked up in surprise. Roxanne was standing on the outer part of the sidewalk. Inclined to move closer, but still hesitant to follow suit. Max didn't skip a beat. He ran over to the unsure girl and practically swept her into an embrace. To his shock Roxanne tugged away from his grasp and held up her hands. That's when it registered to the boy that he had run into a hard spot against his girlfriend's stomach. Still elated, Max talked:

"Roxanne! It's been months, oh gosh. Are you okay? How's…" he bent down.

"The baby?" She smiled, rubbing her stomach with a pink mitten.

"Roxanne," Max approached her and took her hands as she stepped away. "Why?"

"My dad thought it was for the best," the girl reasoned. "It wasn't that I didn't love you."

"Roxanne, you haven't seen me for months. I-I don't know where were going from here."

She looked down at her feet. "I do," she spoke as if she had rehearsed her lines, "I want to move out of state and go live with relatives after our son's born. It'll be for the best Max."

"Oh, yeah?" He dug his pockets down in his jacket scornfully. "Who told you _that_?"

"What?" Roxanne looked up, confused.

"Roxanne, why can't we just be together!.?" Max grabbed her hand.

"Max!"

"Roxanne," He went to his knee and pulled out a small, velvet red box.

"Max, what're you doing?" She looked around frantically. "What is someone sees?"

"Roxanne," The teenager held her hand so that she couldn't run away. Roxanne tugged and tried to rip her arm back all the while he spoke, "I love you. Please," Max held her hand between his forearm and his triceps as he opened the box. "I want to marry you."

"Wha-?" Somehow her hand became loose.

The girl stood there with her bewildered face swarming with frizzy orange-red hair.

"Roxanne, it's now or never." Max pulled out the ring that had belonged to his mother — a pretty silver band with a tiny diamond in the center — and proposed. "Marry me babe."

She looked up into his eyes like he was crazy, then down at the ring and backed away.

"Wh-where are you going?"

"Does your dad know you have that?"

"Well…" Max rubbed the back of his neck, "No, but-,"

"I'm sorry, Max!" Roxanne declared loudly. "The truth is, I'm moving out of the state and there's nothing you can do about it. My father's already decided. And I-I can't have you in my life anymore," Max only stood there, watching her with wide eyes. "I… I'm so sorry."

He watched as she shook her head in confusion and turned on her heel to run. It was odd to observe, but her big belly waved back and forth in something resembling a final farewell to him. Minutes later, Max was still standing as still as the Spoonersville statue. He finally looked down at the ring between his fingers and pressed it up to his heart which still beat.

To be continued…

~ Lavenderpaw ~


	9. The thirty six year old virgin

**I.**

"So you're interested in writing a book someday?"

"I know, I know." Emily said as she and Max Goof walked through Forkersboro park.

"What?" He smiled at her bashfulness.

"I'm the kind of girl who would do that sort of thing."

"Actually," Max pulled his hand from his jean pocket and gripped hers to feel it.

"Max?"

"Yes?"

"What are you doing?" The woman looked down at their clasped fingers.

"I just wanted to see if they fit right," He looked up at her. "You know, out of curiosity."

She giggled with her lips shut and squeezed her hand — and surprisingly, didn't let it go.

"So I'm guessing you're the kind that falls deep, hmm?" Emily asked, swinging her arm.

"You could say that…" Max swung his arm also, "Okay, you can definitely say that."

"No commitment issues, in other words?" She stopped and turned to take his other hand.

"Emily," He turned to look down at the cement nervously, "The last time I got serious…"

"It didn't work out." the woman released what turned out to be _her _hold.

Max dipped his head down. "It never works out with people who didn't have children."

" 'Didn't?' "

"I don't really want to talk about it."

"Say," Emily came over and took his hand, "you're off on the weekends too, right?"

He looked up at her encouraging tone.

"Why don't you come over and meet my sons? I'm sure they'd get a kick out of this."

Max looked at her strangely. "Out what of it!.?"

"Out of my dating someone eight years younger than myself." She said.

To be continued…

**A/N:**

Yes, I'm going somewhere with this. :)

~ Lavenderpaw ~


	10. Don't say goodbye

**I.**

Fall 1997...

Max raised his baseball cap and readied himself for the pitcher. He knew that among the crowds were his friends PJ and Bobby and his father wearing his ridiculous outfit. It was always a sure thing that whenever Goofy was involved there would be problems, but he couldn't complain that his dad wasn't there for him. The sixteen-year-old was lucky to have him. Behind Max, the umpire gave several cues with his hand to the intent pitcher.

He shook his head.

The umpire made another motion.

His head again shook.

Max managed to glance over as the pitcher was nodding and saw that the umpire made a swirling gesture with his finger. 'Idiot,' he thought at the suggestive move and swung his bat hard. There was an uproar throughout the crowds as the ball bounced across the field.

But the teenager learned quickly that it wasn't because of his rusty batting skills. Stacey was talking urgently to Max's friends and father. Just the sight of her actually talking to someone involved in Max's life was astonishing, even more so was what this all meant.

He ran.

"Maxy!" His father called out to him.

Max didn't stop for anyone now. He scaled the chain length fence and hopped over onto the sidewalk. Plenty of voices were speaking as he panted trying to get to the bus stop in time. It seemed like an eternity to plug his change in and wait as the metal monster began to lurch forward, but eventually the door parted and Max leapt out in front of the hospital.

It was the exact one from nearly a year ago.

As he made his way toward the facility, however, the young man found that he could not move nearly as fast as he had anticipated. The sterile atmosphere engulfed him as he took off his cap and entered the chilly entrance. A small fan moving to and fro on the desk of the receptionist and colorful ribbons streaming from an air conditioner unnerved him. In the middle of her magazine, the large woman didn't pay him any mind. Sighing, Max let himself into the backroom and down a long, uncomfortably stuffy hall to a glass window.

He tried to study the words on the drilled plastic next to the door, but he found that for some reason he could no longer process words. Max felt his shoulders drop and his eyes widen as he walked in wearing his smudged baseball uniform with his cap clamped in the hand of the arm that could no longer place it back on his head. The sounds of newborns crying weren't enough to deter him from one particular clear basined holder. It was as if he were being pulled there magnetically, the fatherly instinct in Max was new but still there.

The young man held his breath and glimpsed into the bassinette. A circle of tan brown in a swaddle of white lay sleeping soundly inside of it. His features were somehow bigger than Max had thought they would be. Instead of black, the small tuft of hair laid as smooth as silk across his forehead in a dark, reddish-brown color. Max slipped to the floor in disbelief.

With his finger he carefully tapped on the outside wall. When the baby didn't respond, he tried again. There was an "eurp" noise that Jaxzan made before he turned his head to stare at Max with dark brown eyes that resembled his own. The boy's fascination with the baby grew as he stood up and gently slid his arms underneath the child. He paid no attention to the fact that he belonged to another world in his baseball uniform; Max wasn't part of that world any longer. The child stared up at him with a curiosity he felt would turn to eventual approval. All time was lost to him and Jaxzan as he held the baby; his _son_, against himself.

"It's okay," Max said adoringly. "Daddy's got you."

He didn't even have time to set the baby back down into the bassinette when alarms were going off. The boy was torn then between taking Jaxzan with him or leaving altogether. It was so confusing, but there wasn't time to think. Max picked his son up in his arms as his father and Roxanne's came after them with a gaggle of nurses. He gave a scared jolt back with Jaxzan in his arms before running for the back of the hospital. The doctor appeared in front of the door to Max's exit causing him to have to shift the child and run into the other room. He was almost to the window, from there the new father would be free to leave the state with his son and never come back. They would start a new life together somewhere.

"Max!" Goofy yelled.

The boy had slid the unlocked window open when his father called out to him.

"Max!" Rex growled.

He knew they were watching but their begging and threats wouldn't stop him.

"Think about Roxanne," His father told him.

Max paused, baby Jaxzan cooed happily in his right arm.

"Think about what'll happen to her if you leave with him, man." P.J. added.

Bobby offered words of advice as well. "Who'll watch the squirt when you're 18?"

"Come on, dude." Max slid his left leg in. "You don't want to upset Roxanne, do you?"

He was already inside when the baby was ripped from his arms.

Jaxzan cried and cried when he was taken from his father; who would later on cry too.

To be continued…

~ Lavenderpaw ~

**A/N:**

That's why Max's friends really backed him up before, they were there. :(


	11. Nice to meet you

**I.**

"Will you please just tell me where the heck we're going?" Max asked Emily as she drove him down the neighborhood where she lived. "You might as well tie a blindfold over me."

"Max, I like surprises," the woman said with a laugh, "And I only said close your eyes."

"Are you sure your _boys _are going to like being surprised like this?"

"They're fine with my dating." Emily assured him. The small vehicle pulled up to the curb.

"Right," Max opened his eyes, "That's what all the single parents think." he huffed.

The house was huge — but most of all, it was devastatingly familiar. Max's lower mouth gave a tremble of disbelief. Emily giggled like a school girl and pulled him out by the arm.

He had no choice, fate had given him exactly what he had wanted but in the cruelest way possible. The man didn't fight her as she pulled him up to the green house awaiting them.

"Nice…" he gulped. "Place."

"Isn't it nice?" Emily smiled at him. "My boys Jessie and Jack love it too."

" 'Jack'? "

"Here they are now," She said as two children appeared. One was a five-to-six year old with light brown hair and a shy expression like his mother. The other, a teenager around the age of fifteen or sixteen, came coasting along on a skateboard with bright orange hair.

'Jackson,' Max thought.

"Jess," Emily took the youngest boy's hand and pulled him forward, "This is my friend."

Jessie peered up at him with large eyes. "Hello," he barely spoke.

"Hey," Max kneeled down before him and held out his hand. "I'm Max."

"Jessie."

"It's…" He had to clear his throat to control himself. "Nice to meet you Jessie."

"Nice to meet you Mr. Max."

The man offered him his hand. Jessie looked to his mother, who nodded, before shaking it.

"Mister Max," Jack — a thin youth with a sagging jersey shirt — approached him.

"Jackson." Emily said with playful disapproval.

"Jack." Max gave the young man an unsure look.

"So my mom finally found someone who wasn't old enough to be our grandfather."

A stunned silence followed on Max's part.

Suddenly, shockingly, Emily and her son laughed out loud. When Max looked down at Jessie he offered a careful smile, showing the man that he was used to this. Their mother reached over and gave him a gentle pat on the shoulder. "It's all right Max, good Lord."

"Yeah, man, I'm just kidding." Jackson came up to him and offered his hand. "I always give mom's dates a hard time. What's up?" he tilted his head to the side at Max's shock.

"Max," Emily ran her hand along his arm. "Are you all right?" she asked concernedly.

"It's nice to meet you," He finally spoke and took Jackson's hand. "Jack."

The teenager narrowed his brown eyes thoughtfully. "It's nice you meet to, Mr. Max."

"Max." The man corrected.

"Right," Jackson nodded with a smile. "Max."

With a start, he nodded. "That's right, Jackson. Max."

"Why don't we go in for dinner?" Emily suggested right then. "I'm making lasagna."

"Mm!" Jessie said agreeably as he raced for the door.

"Gross!" Jackson complained as he easily gained the advantage over his brother.

"Jackson!"

" 'Jackson,' " the teenager taunted.

Emily only chuckled before looking back at Max. "Well, Mister Goof," she said with her hand extended to him, "Care to join chef Em in her quest to make edible Italian cuisine?"

He took a moment to consider what he was doing, tears filled his eyes as he smiled widely.

"Chef Em," Max walked ahead of her before taking her hand and pulled her close to his face. The two brushed lips as he courted her fondly. "I'd love to be your chef-in-training."

"Good!" Emily sealed their close proximity with a kiss. "We can both train each other."

They were both laughing as they entered the house. Lights from the right side turned on through the windows and Max stopped in the doorway, still smiling. The man finally had everything he wanted; a good job, a nice city to live in and the possibility of a stable home life. But more importantly, it was a home with a wonderful woman and a great set of kids.

"Max," Emily poked her head out of the kitchen, the lights had already been turned on.

"I'm coming!" He announced as he looked over his shoulder and up at the sky. "Forever."

The End.

~ Lavenderpaw ~


End file.
